Forgotten

May death not find you
among the forgotten.

The floors you scrubbed,
the laundry washed.

Depression-time men
passed by for work.

You are older now
and frail among
those lined up
in wheelchairs
for the dose
to keep them
docile.

Dig out
the potato root
formed in that
famished land.

May death not find you
among the forgotten.

Poem by Tom Simard
Sketches by John Spiers

For this poem, I chose three sketches: an ironing board (toil supporting a family), a bowl of potatoes and cut work napkins (nourishment for body and spirit), and a cleaned plate (generosity towards the needy). The drawings as a series diminish in value contrast, depth, and details, like fading memories.

To read more of Tom’s creative work, please visit Tom’s WordPress blog.

Stone Deaf

Like a
stone deaf
unbridled mule
unable to hear
the desperate
plea.

Poem by Tom Simard
Sketch by John Spiers

Sometimes short poems are packed with big ideas. This is one of those poems.

To read more of Tom’s creative work, please visit Tom’s WordPress blog. By the way, this poem is from a published collection of his poems titled “Watercolors.” To learn more, please visit “Watercolors”.

Water and Silt

Ever the dreamer
unable to see
as his carefully laid plans
came to naught,
and he found himself
in a century-old house
where cats had
crawled about
the matriarch of the clan
rocking in her chair
with simplistic ease.

In a land of poverty
where nothing took to the soil
but weeds.

When winter came
you moved about
to keep warm
as if there were no walls
surrounding you.

You turned on
the creaky bathtub
faucet,
and after an
interminable delay,
there came a
burst
like a bronchial fit,
an equal measure
of water and silt.

Poem by Tom Simard
Sketch by John Spiers

While reading this poem with its intriguing title, my mind went immediately to the claw-foot bathtub in my own old house. Arriving at the surprise ending to Tom’s poem, I very easily related to all of the often unexpected repair jobs that have been needed.

One of the challenges to this sketch was to somehow show a feeling of anticipation and action without giving away the poem’s clever ending.

I chose an angled “snapshot” composition to convey action. This is what you would see if you were bending over to turn the faucet handle, much like how Tom’s poem switches from “he” to “you” as a way of involving the reader in the action.

There is a broad “he” view emphasized by the bathtub tray and how it has been drawn, but also a close up “you” view caused by showing just part of the fixture where the water (and silt) will pour.

To read more of Tom’s creative work, please visit Tom’s WordPress blog.